In Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,851 issued on Aug. 3, 1999, there is disclosed the construction of a hydro-thermo massaging bathtub and the method of treatment for domestic and therapeutic applications. In that patent, the treatment is performed by warm air jets distributed adjacent the bottom wall of the tub or about its circumference. Air jets are formed by holes made in the tub wall and communicate with an air distribution duct which is fed hot air under pressure by a blower. Controls are also provided to vary the pressure of the air as well as the temperature thereof. Warm air jets are released in the water contained within the tub to impart turbulence in the body of water to create acupressure massaging flows of warm air jets and water from opposed sidewalls and end walls of the tub towards a central area of least turbulence which is occupied by a person's body. The acupressure massaging flows perform a massaging action all about the body simultaneously. A sealed light enclosure is provided in one of the end walls to impart light frequencies in the water turbulence to provide physical effects to the bather.
Such a massaging bathtub has been found advantageous over other forms of massaging bathtubs. Today, however, people are more sensitive to their well-being and, therefore, pay more attention to their health due to this awareness of its importance on their quality of life. They are determined to maintain and enhance their physical condition and are seeking simple, efficient and personalized solutions to meet their health objective. For example, it is desirable that selective areas of the bather's body can be massaged within the tub.
The production of ozone consists of modifying many stable oxygen molecules (O.sub.2) to form unstable oxygen molecules (O.sub.3) by adding one atom of oxygen to the stable oxygen molecules in the air. The new molecule is unstable and separates quickly to return to a stable form and produce a free oxygen atom (O). The purifying properties of free oxygen are well-known and have been used to purify water and air.
For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,053,403 and 4,115,267, issued on Oct. 11, 1977 and Sep. 19, 1978 to Bachhofer et al., Bachhofer et al. describe a method and apparatus for treating and degerminating bath water, particularly bath water contaminated by the germ bacteria, pseudomonas pyocyanea, in medical tub-baths and underwater massage baths. According to Bachhofer et al., the recycled bath water is treated with ozone and a halogen compound to destroy highly resistant germs in the water. An ozone generator is mounted within a filter housing which is loaded with a composite filtering medium and the bath water is recycled through the filter. The recycled bath water is also used simultaneously as a coolant for the ozone generator. This method and apparatus are especially designed for long term use bath water in medical bathtubs. However, the water used in the hydro-thermo massaging tub, as described in the Applicant's patent, is typically clean, warm water. Because the bath water used in the hydro-thermo massaging tub is not recycled and is typically designed for temporary use, it is discharged through the drain. Even though the method and apparatus disclosed by Bachhofer et al. may be used in underwater massage baths, the purpose of adding ozone to the water is to purify the highly contaminated bath water in the filter housing and not for the massage performance.
Therefore, the method and apparatus disclosed by Bachhofer et al. is not suitable for domestic and therapeutic massaging bathtubs.